IRS to Appeal Bellco UBIT Decision

The U.S. Attorney for Colorado has filed a notice of intent to appeal the court's decision in April that Bellco Credit Union does not have pay unrelated business income tax on its income from credit insurance and other areas.

"Notice is hereby given that Defendant the United States of America, hereby respectfully appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from the Order granting in part and denying in part both party's Motion for Summary Judgment entered in this action on November 12, 2009 (Doc. # 114), the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law entered in this action on April 2, 2010 (Doc. # 150), and the Judgment entered in this action on June 23, 2010 (Doc. # 158)," U.S. Attorney John Walsh wrote in the government's notice.

The court's April decision had been almost a complete sweep for the credit union.

"In the banking and credit union context, the concept of thrift is tied to sound financial management....Credit insurance does just that....For a relatively marginal payment, the borrower buys peace of mind," U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello wrote in April.

"Giving members a convenient way to purchase insurance that protects them, their families and their assets in the event of a catastrophic event certainly qualifies as a mechanism for careful management of the borrowers' money. None of the government's arguments convince the court otherwise," she added in the decision in the suit filed by the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based credit union against the IRS.